Spot-weld edge gauge



Oct. 8, 1946. B, GROSS Em 2,408,847

SPOTWELD EDGE GAUGE Filed Nov. 21; 1945 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 BEEN/4.4206220s.; and

50 W. Coeww/mz.

INVENTORS.

MZZ/VQ ATTORNEY.

Noct- 8. 1946. B. GROSS ETAL 2,408,847

SPOTWELD EDGE GAUGE Filed Nov/21, 1945 zneets-sneet 2 48 igs 46 47 fl f:J4

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Patented Oct. 8, 1946 2,408,847 SPOT-WELD EDGE GAUGE Bernard Gross andLeo W. Qornwall, San Diego,

Calif assignors to Rohr Aircraft Gorporation, Chula Vista,.Calif., acorporation of California,

Application November 21, 1945, Serial No. 629,948 6 Claims. (Cl.21-9--4) Our invention relates to spotweld edge gauges, and its objectsare to provide a mechanical means for guiding the formation of a line ofspotwelds at a uniform distance from one of the edges of the sheets ofmaterial which are being welded together by a conventional spotweldingmachine; to adjust and adapt such guiding means for use with electrodeslong or short of varying lengths, to furnish means for readily turningout of the way for the time being such guiding means when its use is notrequired. Other objects will appear from the drawings, and ashereinafter set forth and described.

In the process of spotwelding as heretofore generally carried on, it hasbeen found difficult by the workman, particularly at high speeds, toform and maintain a line or sequence of spotwelds equidistant from the,edge of the welded work as is required by many working drawings. This isbecause the workman depending entirely upon the eye to judge suchdistance and to apply the welds is unable to secure accurate and uniformresults. It is by reason of this situation, and to meet this problemthat we have conceived and developed our invention, resulting in theproduction of a gauge which is the subject matter of this application,and which fully secures and illustrating a preferred form of ourinvention, in which similar numerals of designation refer to similarparts throughout the several. views, and in which Figure l is a sideelevation of our spotweld edge gauge, showing-itattached to the-lowerelectrode holder of a conventional spotwelding machine, and the rollerof'said, gauge in contact with the edge of the two sheet weldedmaterial;

Fig. 2 isa plan view of the gauge and electrode holder shown in Fig. 1with the contact roller and welded material removed;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-301. Fig. 1, looking in the direction ofthe. arrows;

Fig. 4 is a section partly in end elevation on line 4'--4 of Fig. 2,with the roller restored looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction ofthe arrows, and

Fig. 6 is a section on line 66 of Pig. in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings, our invention comprises a rod 1 and an edgingroller assembly and 4, looking carriage 8 therefor, slidably mountedupon said red, the inner end of said rod having a split sleeve shaped tomake contact with the lower elecfarther away from the 2 trode holder ofa conventional spot welding machine, and to be firmly secured to saidelectrode holder by the thumb screw Ill in threaded engagement with earsH integral with said sleeve, adjacent to and separated by the splittherein. Preferably extending over one side of the middle and outerportions of the rod are the regularly disposed teeth or notches t2, thepurpose of which will shortly be disclosed. Included in said carriage,is the sleeve l4 enclosing the rod 7 and longitudinally slidablethereon; the elongated key la affixed to the under side of said rod. anden gaging with the keyway IS in the adjacent wall of said sleeve servingto prevent rotation of said sleeve is while at the same time permittingthe same to be slid along such rod; and the stop pin .13 affixed to theouter end of said rod preventing said sleeve from sliding off the same.Rotatably mounted upon said sleeve I l, between the rim 53 thereof andclevis 29 thereon, is the open-ended box 35, having a barrel shapedbottom I 6: in sliding contact with said sleeve, upright sides I 1' andi8, and a top it secured to said sides by pins or set screws 20; thesaid'top' having integral therewith and extending inwardly therefrom,the round rod 21, upon which is pivotally mounted one end of the bracket22; a screw 23 in threaded engagement with an opening in the wall ofsaid bracket and extending therethrough and contacting with said rod,serving normally to prevent said bracket from rotation. Upwardlyextending from the other end of saidbracket 22 and firmly securedthereto is the bolt 52, upon which is rotatably mounted the roller 24,having the inner metallic sleeve 24a, fibre insulation layer 25.; andsteel outer jacket or cover 2.6.

In order to move the roller 24 nearer to or electrode 21, I preferablysecure by means of screws 28, in an annular recess provided therefor in.the outer end of the sleeve 14, the clevis 29, to the walls of which ispivotally secured by the pin 36 within. opening thereof the ratchetlever 31:, having the inner face of its head 32 provided with serrationsshaped to engagewith the teeth l2 of the rod 1, and having a stud on itsarm 33. engaging with an expansion spring 34 connected by a stud 3'!with a lip 35 integral with the sleeve l4; said spring operatingnormally to keep the serrations of head 32 in spring yieldingengagementwith the teeth of said rod.

When it is desired to adjust the roller for use with a shorter electrodethe shank of which does not reach above the plane of the lower end ofsaid roller and is a little below such plane, the

screw 23 may be loosened, and the roller 24 inverted and turned 180degrees from an upright to a downwardly depending position, and saidscrew 23 again tightened. When in such position, and when the sheets 38and 39 to be welded are in position on top of the lower electrode, theroller 24 may be moved into the desired contact with the edges of saidsheets.

For the purpose of temporarily moving the roller 24 out of the way ofthe operator when it becomes necessary or desirable to weld without theuse of our improved gauge, and without detaching the same, we preferablyinstall in the space 4|] between the upright sides H and ll! of the box36, the body 4| of the lever 42, pivotally mounted upon the pin 43extending through the sides of said box; the protruding outer arm ofsaid lever acting as a handle 44, and the inclosed inner arm 45 having adownwardly depending tongue 46 shaped and positioned normally to engagewith the Opening 41 extending through the upper walls of the barrel I6and the sleeve I4. An expansion spring 48 engaging with a stud 49 on theear integral with the enclosed end of lever 42 and also engaging with astud 5| embedded in the underside of top |9, serves to keep the tongue46 in spring yielding engagement with the opening 41. Upon the handle 44being manually depressed and the arm 45 caused to move upwardly, thetongue 46 will be lifted out of engagement with the opening 41, and theentire box 36 as a whole carrying the roller 24 and adjacent parts maybe turned downwardly out of the way, without disturbing the ratchetlever 3| and its engagement with the teeth |2 on rod 1, and withoutdisturbing the longitudinal adjustment of roller 24 in respect to theelectrode 21. Later, as is obvious, the box 36 may be quickly rotatedback its original position and again locked therein through reengagementof the tongue 46 with the opening 41.

Preferably, the material of all the parts of our improved gauge shouldbe of non-magnetic conducting materials in order that the magnetic fluxor field induced around the electrode during welding will not interfereor affect the movement of such parts while serving the purposes of ourinvention.

Our invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment, as above set forth, is therefore to be considered in allrespects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of our inventionbeing indicated by the appended claims rather than by the abovedescription, and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What we claim and desire to secure Letters Patent is:

1. A spotweld edge gauge, comprising a rod, means for securing one endof said rod to a spotwelding machine adjacent to one of the electrodesthereof, an edging roller assembly and carriage therefor mounted uponsaid rod to slide thereon toward and from said electrode, and means fordetachably clamping said assembly to said rod in adjusted positionthereon.

2. A spotweld edge gauge, comprising a rod, means for securing one endof said rod to the lower electrode holder of a spot welding machine, anedging roller assembly and carriage therefor mounted upon said rod toslide toward and from said holder, and means for clamping said assemblyto said rod in adjusted position thereon.

3. A spotweld edge gauge, comprising a rod, means for securing one endof said rod to a spotwelding machine adjacent to one of the electrodesthereof, a carriage mounted upon said rod to slide toward and from saidelectrode, an edging roller mounted upon said carriage and positioned tobe moved to abut against edges of the material to be welded when incontact with said electrode, and means for clamping said carriage tosaid rod to secure adjustment of said roller in respect to the edges ofsaid material.

4. A spotweld edge gauge, comprising a rod having serrations extendingalong one side thereof, means for securing one end of said rod to thelower electrode holder of a spotweld machine, a carriage mounted uponsaid rod to slide toward and from said holder, an edging roller mountedupon said carriage and positioned to be moved to abut against the edgesof the material to be welded and resting upon the electrode of saidholder, and ratchet means mounted upon said carriage for contacting saidserrations and clamping said carriage to said rod to secure adjustmentof said roller in respect to the edges of said material.

5. A spotweld edge gauge, comprising a rod, means for clamping one endof said rod to the lower electrode holder of a spotweld machine, acarriage pivotally mounted .upon said rod to slide toward and from theelectrode of said holder, an edging roller mounted upon said carriageand positioned to be moved to abut against the edges of material to bewelded and resting upon said electrode, means connected with said canriage for locking the same in upright position on said rod andpermitting said carriage when unlocked to be inverted thereon, and meansfor clamping said carriageto said rod to secure adjustment of saidroller in respect to the edges of said material.

6. A spotweld edge gauge, comprising a rod, means for clamping one endof said red to the lower electrode holder of a spotweld machine, acarriage mounted upon said rod to slide toward and from the electrode ofsaid holder, an edging roller pivotally mounted upon said carriage so tomove from an upright to an inverted position and to be adjusted while inone of such positions to abut against the edges of the material to bewelded and resting upon said electrode, and means for clamping saidcarriage to said rod when in adjusted position in respect to saidelectrode.

BERNARD GROSS. LEO W. CORNWALL,

